


afraid of losing you

by thishasbeencary



Series: hashtag classics major [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Orpheus and Eurydice Myth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 17:05:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10667022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thishasbeencary/pseuds/thishasbeencary
Summary: Viktor Nikiforov is the most skilled skater in the entire universe, and in some crazy turn of Fate, he's decided to marry Yuuri Katsuki, of all people. Unfortunately, without the blessing of the god of marriage, their marriage turns dark fast - not even married for a few hours before Yuuri is killed. Viktor does all he can to get him back, with varying degrees of success. Eventually, they're reunited, but... not under the best circumstances.(An Orpheus and Eurydice AU)





	afraid of losing you

**Author's Note:**

> Orpheus and Eurydice au!! I'm a classics major, and this has been one of my favorite myths forever so I'm so glad to shift it for this fandom. I put a small key in the end note, for those either less familiar with the story or curious of my decisions, of what character corresponds to what mythological figure from the original story.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at [yoyoplisetsky](https://yoyoplisetsky.tumblr.com/).

How the hell he was getting married to fucking _Viktor Nikiforov_ was a mystery to Yuuri, and probably would forever stay that way. Everyone knew about Viktor; he was blessed by the gods in beauty and talent, what else could someone be before they were a god themself? Looking at Viktor Nikiforov was like looking into the sun (a fitting metaphor, with as beautiful as Christophe supposedly was), except Yuuri envisioned the sun’s hair probably wouldn’t be silver, nor tied up in a ponytail down to his waist, but it made Viktor better (and if Christophe heard that, Yuuri would happily die of blasphemy). Viktor had the beauty of the sun, but he had more – he was beauty in itself.

It made sense that Viktor would have to be different from the sun, because his talents manifested upon the ice. Even without the faintest melody, Viktor could skate, on his skates of pure gold, supposedly crafted by the gods themselves, and they would craft music beyond what the gods had ever imagined from the activity. Viktor Nikiforov looked every bit the prince of the ice that he was.

Some would say that the world was created for Viktor Nikiforov. At least where he had met Yuuri, it stayed cold for most of the year, and it seemed there was always a frozen patch of land for him to skate, to show off the talents that he had been gifted from the gods.

And, even with all of that going for him? He’d fallen in love with _Yuuri_. Out of everyone, in the whole of the world, the one that Viktor had fallen in love with was Yuuri. He was marrying _Yuuri_. It was something that would never make sense to him, not in a thousand years, but here he was. Marrying Viktor Nikiforov.

Literally, there was no way this could go wrong. Well, actually, Yuuri’s anxiety could name off about fifty ways that this could go wrong. Taking the romantic approach, it seemed like there was no way that this could go wrong.

Everyone that they knew was invited to the wedding, which mostly meant Yuuri’s family and friends, a few of Viktor’s, and some minor gods and goddesses. Yes, you read that completely correctly, minor gods and goddesses came to bless Yuuri and Viktor’s wedding. Or, at least, most of them came to bless.

And then there was JJ Leroy, the god of marriage. The man stood disguised, at the edge of the wedding party, and barely even looked toward Yuuri and Viktor.

Viktor didn’t seem to notice, grinning widely and happily going about the wedding, thanking everyone for coming, keeping Yuuri by his side and kissing him what felt like a thousand times. Yuuri’s eyes kept drifting to JJ, though, who eventually disappeared, leaving just them to the wedding party. He smiled at Viktor, following him around for a while, but… his husband’s enthusiasm was a bit… much.

“Viktor,” Yuuri whispered his husband’s name, tugging on his hand to pull him away some, leaning up to kiss him before he did. “I’m going to step outside? With Phichit. It’s just loud.”

“Do you want me to come?” Viktor was immediately willing, of course he was, and Yuuri smiled at him, kissing him again. And getting a little distracted by the kiss. Or… you know, very distracted by the kiss. He finally pulled away and shook his head.

“Phichit and I will be fine. Just for a few minutes. I love you.” He always made sure to reassure Viktor of that, because for some reason, _Viktor Nikiforov_ got worried that Yuuri might for some reason leave him. He’d have to be insane to step even more than a few paces away from Viktor ever again.

Viktor grinned happily and tugged Yuuri in for one last kiss, leaving the newlyweds giggling and holding onto each other before Yuuri finally pulled away, still feeling a little overwhelmed and anxious by JJ’s silent presence at the wedding. “I love you too, Yuuri!” Viktor called after him in a joyful voice, and Yuuri was glad he turned away when he felt the smile quirking at the corners of his lips.

“How am I this lucky?” He made sure that he and Phichit were outside before he spoke aloud, and Phichit immediately began to laugh, dragging Yuuri forward, further from the wedding party until they were walking along the edge of a lake. “Phichit, seriously, how the fuck did Viktor Nikiforov choose _me?_ ”

“I’ve told you all along, Yuuri! You’re blessed by the gods! I’m so excited for you, Viktor loves you so much! You’re going to have an awesome life!” Phichit laughed along with him, and Yuuri couldn’t keep the smile off of his face, because, for once, he didn’t have any disagreements with that.

Life with Viktor could only be amazing, honestly. He’d been a little doubtful at first that Viktor would really truly want him for forever, but… Well, he’d needed more space from Viktor than Viktor had from him. He loved Viktor with his whole being, but the man was overwhelming when he loved, and, by the gods, did he _love_.

“I’m excited too,” He finally admitted aloud, much to Phichit’s excitement. “I can’t believe that I married _Viktor Nikifor-_ ow!”

“Nikiforow?” Phichit paused, and then realized that Yuuri had fallen. He was grasping onto his ankle, tears in his eyes.

“Ow, holy shit, Phichit, I don’t – “ Phichit saw the snake slithering away, and gasped out, falling down beside Yuuri, moving his hands out of the way to try to stop it, but he knew that it was too late. It had to be too late.

“I’m going to get Viktor!” Phichit stood, and Yuuri looked up with panicked eyes, grabbing onto his hand.

“Phichit, no! He’ll freak out!” Yuuri couldn’t stop crying, though, and he could barely keep his hold on Phichit’s hand, especially when his friend tugged it away, and Yuuri felt his whole body shaking.

Tears overwhelmed him when he realized what was happening. “I’m dying.” He had _just_ married Viktor Nikiforov, and now by some stupid turn of Fate, he was dying. The gods hadn’t blessed their marriage, no wonder JJ had been so silent and had left so early. This wasn’t supposed to happen, why would Yuuri have been in love with Viktor?

Through his tears, he didn’t notice Phichit rush back off to the wedding, didn’t see Viktor rushing toward him, demanding help from the gods. The last thing he heard was Viktor’s panicked voice shouting his name, and someone… that must be Viktor, too, grasping his hand.

Yuuri Katsuki died only a few hours after marrying Viktor Nikiforov.

Viktor immediately started to cry.

And then, after a few hours of crying, he decided to skate. He skated everything he knew, program after program, dedicated to every god that he’d ever heard of. None of them worked, so Viktor decided to take matters into his own hands, and design something new, something better. Something that no god could deny.

And then he went to the Underworld.

The entrance to the Underworld was shrouded in ice, and Viktor stepped carefully forward, skating careful patterns across the ice to charm the opening before sliding in, rushing straight through, at first barely pausing at Makkachin. Makkachin, the three headed guard dog of the Underworld, supposedly so fierce and unforgiving simply set her head down against the ground and whined when Viktor stepped in front of her.

It was probably not considered good manners to pet the guard dog of the Underworld, but Viktor was sad, and Makkachin was looking at him with not two but six big, sad eyes, and Viktor skated over to her, sitting down by one of her heads and petting her for a few moments.

One of Makkachin’s heads licked his hand, and Viktor felt the smile finally turn against his lips, for the first time in so long. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go talk to your owners,” Viktor cooed at the dog, who barked and nuzzled against him before he stood back up.

Okay. Time to find Yakov and Lilia. Not that the throne room of the Underworld is really all that hard to find, and Viktor skated right up to them, glancing down at his feet before breathing out. “I want to make a deal.”

“Of course you do,” Yakov sighed, leaning forward, apparently actually listening to what Viktor had to say.

“I want Yuuri back.”

“Of course you do,” Yakov repeated, and Viktor clenched his teeth in frustration.

“I… Just… watch me. And if you still think I don’t deserve him, tell me. But you have love, don’t you? You have something you want to hold onto?” He looked over at Yakov and Lilia, and the way the two of them met eyes.

Look, Viktor knew that he might be pushing it. The story of Yakov and Lilia wasn’t the smoothest, but it always ended in love, didn’t it? She came back (even if _technically_ against her will), and Yakov genuinely loved her, he knew that he did. If anything they said about the gods was true, despite his position Yakov truly was one of the most just and kind gods.

“You’re going to have me eventually either way,” Viktor added in a moment’s desperation, skating back so that he was in full view of Yakov and Lilia. “Why can’t I have him for a little longer?”

And so he skated. He skated with all of the emotions he had built up, a sad and bittersweet program, something meant for two. He skated the skate that no one else could, reaching for the Yuuri that he couldn’t have, and refusing to look at Yakov and Lilia while he did.

This was his last chance. If he didn’t get their permission, if he wasn’t allowed to take Yuuri back with him, he wouldn’t be able to have Yuuri until he died, and he didn’t even think that he could begin to process the pain in his heart when he thought about such a thing.

He finished his program on his knees, tears welling in his eyes, finally looking up at Yakov and Lilia. From his position, he could only see the edge of Lilia’s black dress, and Yakov’s shoes. He didn’t know if he could look higher, if he could meet their eyes.

“I have a condition,” Yakov finally spoke, and Viktor looked up, shocked and confused, but overall, excited. He was going to have Yuuri back? “You can bring Yuuri back to the living if you don’t look at him until you get there. You seem to trust your skates, trust that your boyfriend – “

“Husband!” Viktor corrected before throwing his hands over his mouth in shock of himself. _Shit_. He had just corrected a god. Who was in the process of letting him have Yuuri back. That was probably not his best choice ever.

Yakov narrowed his eyes at him but continued anyway, “Trust that your _husband_ will follow you. If you look at him before you reach the surface, he’s returned here. And don’t even think of coming back and begging me for him again. You’re lucky I’m even giving you one chance.” He glanced to Lilia, who nodded her assent to the proposition, and turned to face Viktor.

“Do you agree?” She spoke slowly, eyeing him, but Viktor wasn’t sure if it was hope in her eyes or a warning – an expectation that he wouldn’t be able to do it. He _had_ to be able to do it, because a life without Yuuri was a life not worth living, but he would have to.

“Of course I do.” Viktor stood back up, looking Yakov and Lilia in the eyes, and he saw the smallest smile quirk on the edges of Yakov’s lips before he nodded his head.

“Then leave. He’ll be behind you.” Yakov promised, and Viktor took in a deep breath, wishing that he could see Yuuri before he turned away, but knowing that he couldn’t. He couldn’t look back, he couldn’t ruin this when they’d only just begun.

After a few beats of silence, he heard the slice of blades behind him, Yuuri following him out of the Underworld. Tears started falling from his eyes again as he realized what was happening, a smile on his face. His footwork was maybe more complicated than it had to be for just simply leaving the Underworld, but he needed Yuuri to know that he was happy to have him back, even if he couldn’t see him yet.

He could see the end, though, and he skated faster to be able to get out of there, to pull off his skates, to kiss Yuuri, and to live happily ever after. That was what he wanted, and _finally¸_ they were going to get their happily ever after. No more snakes, no more having to skating to make the gods happy, just Yuuri and Viktor until they died of natural causes.

As soon as he’d made it through the entrance, he spun around to face Yuuri, a giant grin spreading across his face before suddenly there were loud, thunderous cracking noises from within the Underworld and Viktor froze.

Yuuri was still on the edge, and he seemed to have realized it as well, his hands coming to cover his mouth in a gasp as Viktor flung himself forward, as Yuuri tried to take that final step, but was pulled back. “Viktor!” He could barely hear Yuuri shout his name before he was gone, and Viktor was on his knees in front of the Underworld, his hands grasping onto nothing, and his husband gone again.

Forever.

No.

 _No_ , you know what, screw Yakov. Who said that Yakov had to be right?

Viktor immediately turned around, marching right back to the entrance of the Underworld and forcing his way through. Makkachin would let him through again, he knew that, and so would all of the Titans and minor gods in his way. Yuri Plisetsky, though? The Ferryman of the Styx took one look at him and rolled his eyes.

“I let you cross once, didn’t I? You know the living aren’t allowed down here. Charmed me once, Nikiforov, you’re not going back down.” Yuri rolled his eyes, and Viktor stared at him, preparing to skate again, to entreat him somehow, but Yuri just eyed him. “It’s not going to work, Viktor. Yakov’s orders. Unlike _some_ people, I try to listen to my superiors.”

That didn’t stop Viktor from wandering the banks of the Styx for _days_. Every time Yuri came back around, Viktor begged for passage, and every time, the blonde ferryman pretended like he didn’t see him, acting like he was fiddling with some button out of place on his jacket (which they never were), or something.

Finally, Viktor knew that he couldn’t stay there forever, and left the Underworld, going back to the land of the living. To the stupid, boring, Yuuri-less living. He skated some, still, but it meant nothing, and he didn’t bother looking for anyone else. No one else would ever compare to what Yuuri was to him.

One day, he was skating in an isolated frozen pond, far from where he lived, and a group of girls approached him, all talk and whispers of his name. He smiled at them, talking for a while before realizing that they were trying to flirt with him and turning back to the ice.

They weren’t exactly happy with this, and, well, long story short, Viktor found himself on his way back to the Underworld against his better wishes (after a little while; someone had to happen across him and make sure that they at least threw a handful of dirt over him to bury the ice skater, so that he could have the proper afterlife).

When he reached the Underworld, Yuri Plisetsky took one look at him, started to roll his eyes, and then froze. “You’re here for good.”

Viktor grinned, and he was pretty sure that the look on Yuri’s face meant that he had never seen anyone happier to have died. Not that Viktor had wanted to _die,_ but…

It meant being reunited with Yuuri, hopefully.

There was the judgement, the being yelled at by Yakov, the giving Makkachin a few more pets, and then Viktor was sent on his way to the Elysian Fields.

Where he almost tripped over something brown and fuzzy (a poodle, his mind provided after a second, one that was much smaller and only had one head, but very similar to Makkachin). “Vicchan!”

 _Yuuri_.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize that you were over there, or I would’ve followed him more closely, Vicchan isn’t usually like this, he’s – “ And then Yuuri finally looked up, and froze, holding the poodle close to his chest with pure shock in his eyes.

“V -  Viktor, what are you doing here?” His voice was nothing more than a whisper, and if Viktor wasn’t already dead, the pure love and dedication in Yuuri’s eyes would have been enough to do it again.

“I died!” Viktor announced, and Yuuri looked horrified, which finally made Viktor realize that _maybe_ that wasn’t the best way to introduce the situation. “Well, it wasn’t… I… I was waiting for you. I didn’t want anyone else.” He murmured, and Yuuri set Vicchan (had Yuuri named his poodle in the Underworld after him? Viktor was going to cry).

“Viktor…” He whispered his name again, and suddenly Yuuri’s arms were around him, wrapping Viktor close to him as he felt a sob escape his husband, both of them sinking to the ground.

“I missed you, Yuuri.” Viktor was crying too, he realized, holding Yuuri close to him and laughing softly when he felt Vicchan sniffing against them. Yuuri pulled away enough that he was only sitting on Viktor’s lap, with Viktor’s arms around him, and he pulled the tiny poodle into his arms, cuddling back up against Viktor once he had.

“Never let me go,” Yuuri whispered against his chest, and Viktor tipped his head up so that he could meet their lips together. It was wet, and salty, and not at all a kiss that was worth it, but they had the whole of their afterlife, now. They had the whole of the afterlife to make things better – to kiss again and again until they had one worth remembering. “Stay close to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Characters:  
> Viktor is Orpheus  
> Yuuri is Eurydice  
> Yakov is Hades  
> Lilia is Persephone  
> JJ is Hymen (the god of marriage)  
> Phichit is Eurydice's naiad friends  
> Christophe is Apollo (because Aphrodite wasn't necessary and I needed someone to rival Viktor's beauty)  
> Makkachin is a much cuddlier Cerberus  
> Yuri Plisetsky is Charon.
> 
> (-soft whispers- if you didn't guess, the program that viktor skates for yakov and lilia is stammi vicino because IT IS IMPORTANT and also it means stammi vicino with long haired viktor)
> 
> As always, thanks so much for kudos/comments/bookmarks on this and other fics. <3


End file.
